Page 79 of A Virgin for the Icy Laird
“Aye, indeed, but I should have ken.” She lowered her eyes. “We used to spend almost all our waking moments together, and one day twelve years ago, they just disappeared. Me faither said they died, and I believed him, but… I shouldnae have. How could I have let meself believe him so easily? I should have ken the moment I saw Emily. Her face was so familiar, but I was blinded by me own self-importance. How am I any different from me faither?”
At that moment, Adair felt sorry for her. It must have hurt to grow up as the daughter of a man who only saw her as a means to claim what he believed was denied him. Malcolm had trained her to be the perfect lady so he could use secure alliances. It was surprising that she had not turned into a cynical creature.
Adair guessed that she had inherited her mother’s goodness.
“Ye have done nothing wrong,” he said gently, patting her shoulder. “Ye arenae yer faither.”
“But ye lost yer faither because of him,” she sniffed.
“Aye, but thanks to ye, we are able to prevent it from happening again. I thank ye for that.”
“I will help ye explain to the clansmen,” she said, determination flashing in her eyes as she wiped her tears away. “Me people are a bloodthirsty lot, thanks to me faither. No doubt they will want revenge for his death, but I will explain to them the evils he had done and restore the clan to its rightful heir.”
“What will ye do after?” he asked. “Ye can always stay here.”
She shook her head. “Nay. I daenae deserve such kindness from ye. Perhaps in time I will be able to face me cousins and ask them for forgiveness.”
“I am sure they harbor no ill will toward ye,” Adair assured her.
Emily would no doubt be quick to forgive. She had a bigger heart than one would expect from someone who had suffered so much. It was one of the things he loved about her.
Love…?
Yes, he loved her.
It hadn’t been clear before, but looking back on how his heart had nearly torn in two when he had seen the carriage fall into the water, he couldn’t deny it.
“Take care of me cousins, Laird MacDonnell,” Isla said with a final bow.
He simply nodded.
He didn’t need her to tell him. He intended to do so for the rest of his life. He would grant Emily and Elize the safety and comfort they had been denied for the last twelve years.
The next morning, Emily was awake and much recovered from her ordeal.
“Thank ye,” she told Adair when he came to check on her.
Even with her eyes and nose a bit red and her hair a tangled mess, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He was overwhelmed by gratitude again that he had not lost her to the dark depths of the loch. He would never have recovered. He knew this as keenly as he knew his own name.
“How are ye today?” he asked, sitting beside her to stroke her brow.
Miraculously, she had no fever, just a little sniffle. She was very lucky.
“I am well, thanks to ye,” she answered with a tired smile.
“I am happy to hear that,” he whispered, his voice gruff with emotion.
He never wished to relive the events of the previous day. Those moments when he realized she was underneath that ice, fighting for her life, had shaved a decade off his life. Thank goodness that the waters had decided to claim Malcolm, because if he had gotten his hands on him alive, he would have tortured him until he begged for death.
“What are ye thinking?” Emily asked, raising a cool hand to cradle the side of his face, a concerned look in her eyes.
He cradled her hand, leaning into her touch. “I was thinking of just how horrible it would have been if I had lost ye. I would have been lost too.”
“But I am here,” she murmured, her beautiful eyes shining with unshed tears. “I am alive. I am going nowhere.”
“Ye better nae,” he said with a watery chuckle. “I will knock on Death’s gates if I have to. Daenae force me to.”
“I willnae,” she giggled, basking in the fierce love in his eyes.
